UK HealthCare

UK Adolescent Medicine Brings School-Based Health to Harrison County

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 13, 2014) — The Kentucky Children's Hospital's Division of Adolescent Medicine has launched a pilot program that will offer school-based health services to teenagers in Harrison County. 

Modeled after similar programs initiated by the division in Lincoln and Boyle counties, the Harrison County program is designed to connect students with an in-school health care provider who can address issues including suicide, sexual activity, depression, violence, drugs and social pressures. Through the program, a doctor from UK Adolescent Medicine will see students during school hours twice a month and a UK adolescent counselor will visit with students once a week.

Dr. Hatim Omar, chief of the division, gave a presentation on teen health during a forum in Harrison County last year. The forum was held in response to three consecutive suicides committed by Harrison County High School students. Since the forum, Omar has worked with school board officials and Passport Health insurance company to start up a school-based health program.

As part of the program, school officials will conduct a health screening of the entire student population to identify at-risk teens and inform students that help is available at school. With this program, students won't have to miss school or travel long distances to receive attention from a UK health care provider.

"We at UK HealthCare are really committed to people who want to help the state as a whole," Omar said. "We’ve been advocating school-based centers since I came to this state – and we continue to find ways to do it."

On Oct. 31, Omar led a training session in Harrison County for teachers and volunteers who will meet with students one-on-one to screen for health risks. The screening will take place throughout the month of November. The screening will be repeated at the beginning of every school year to measure health risks and the progress of the program. Omar said through this program, the Harrison County community has invested in the development and well-being of their youth.

"They're the same issues you see in teens anywhere in the state," Omar said of Harrison County. "To make a change in any place, we need healthy well-adapted kids. We help teens to be more resilient, which make them more likely to succeed."

MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Adams, elizabethadams@uky.edu